Corpus Christi Catholic School Colt Express - March 7-14, 2014

Celebrating Faith!

March 9, 2014 - First Sunday of Lent

One Does Not Live By Bread Alone!

Jesus' time in the desert was a type of retreat for Him!  It was a time of prayer and fasting, a time for strengthening His Spirit.  The teachers and staff of CCCS had just such a day this last Wednesday as well!  The forty days of Lent can be a form of retreat for each of us!  Over these next six weeks or so, we are invited to focus on our prayer, fasting, and alms giving so that our spirits will be made strong!  The image of stones verses bread reminds us that we need to give attention to what truly nourishes our lives, and Lent offers us that opportunity!  

This Week On the Way to Mass..Ask everyone to pay attention to what is different in the church today.  What color are the vestments?  What is the difference in the environment and in the singing?

This Week On the Way Home from Mass...Reflect on the meaning of the changes that were observed at church today.  Explain that Lent in Old English lencten, means "springtime" or "spring".  How will your family use this Lent to be a time for new life to emerge?

Living the Word This Week

Make your prayer table or prayer space reflect the Lenten season.  Use purple cloth as a runner.  Cover your crucifixes with purple cloth. Add some stones or bare branches, to suggest a desert or barren place.  Take some time to at dinner or before bedtime to talk together about Lent as a time as a time to strengthen our spirits.  Are there some practices that you might do as a family?

Celebrating FAITH Next Week - March 23, 2014 - Second Sunday in Lent!

Who are You Bringing to the Well?  

As we read the entire passage of John 4, it is amazing how rich the conversation and meaning is that Jesus has with the Samaritan woman is.  Biblically, we see Jesus often having significant encounters with people who we were consider outsiders, foreigners or second-class citizens.  Yet in this conversation with the Samaritan woman, He approaches her in thirst.  Jesus went to her!  In Jesus' time and even today - fear, lack of trust and prejudice separate us from one another. What might we discover about if we approached someone we consider "the other." Is it possible that we are missing the chance for a greater life?

Next Week On the Way to Mass...Mention that on the next three Sundays, we will hear rather long but very important stories from Jesus' life.  Perhaps discuss why the woman was an outsider.  Who are the "outsiders" in your life?

Next Week On the Way Home from Mass...Explore the term "living water" as a symbol.  What gives us meaningful live?

Living the Word Next Week

We are nearing the midpoint of Lent.  Even though we are still getting some snowflakes and cool mornings and evenings, signs of Spring are appearing!  Bring this your prayer space.  Some possibilities may include a budding branch (forysthia or pussy willow are good choices) or a bowl of water (clean and fresh each day).  Consider who is "the other" for you and your family.  Perhaps do a little research on this group of people, or if possible, find a way to meet and talk together.

SPAGHETTI DINNER was a BIG HIT

Thanks so much to our HSA Board and especially Mrs. Michelle Giancamilli for their hard work in making this event so much fun!  Thanks also to our room parents for their organization of our baskets for the Basket Raffle!  If you won a basket and have not yet received it, please come by the office to pick yours up.  Thank you again for purchasing tickets!  The following are our basket raffle winners: 

8^th grade                              Deb Baca                        1^st grade                              Deb Evans

3^rd grade                              Bob McAdams                6^th grade                              Mary Vanatta

7^th grade                              Teresa Viramontes         Kinder                                   Albers

Staff                                      Joanie Edwards              2^nd                                        Talia Rodriguez

4^th                                         Reyes                             5^th                                         Davidson

PIE DAY - Next Friday, March 14
March 14 is our Corpus Christi Catholic School Annual "PI DAY".  Each Preschool-8th Grade student who can state Pi at least 20 digits past the decimal point will earn a piece of PIE at our Middle School lunch time!  Please have your child practice Pi and be ready to repeat it to Mrs. Degenhart! 

Also, we are in need of PIES!  Please send a pie to school to share the morning of Friday, March 14th as we have MANY students that love participating in this ANNUAL event!  

St. Patrick's Day Parade
Another annual event at CCCS is participating in the Colorado Springs Saint Patrick's Day Parade!  If you and your child would like to be in the parade,  please go to the digital locker of www.teacherease.com to download the sign-up sheet!  As a reminder, we can only have 40 participants so this is a first come first serve sign-up!  

American Heritage Girl "Daughters of the King" Girls Retreat Coming Soon!!!
Sign up now for a GREAT event CCCS is hosting - it's the Daughters of the King (AHG) Girl's Retreat for 1st-8th grade girls on April 12! Please go to the Digital Locker Section of www.teacherease.com for the flyer for this great event and to sign up!  It is going to be a beautiful day!  

Lenten RICE Projects
As Lenten projects, our school is participating in two different events.  We have first of all distributed the Catholic Relief Service Rice Bowls.  Please have your child earn and collect funds and fill the bowl with their coins.  We will be collecting these at our school mass on April 16.  This is a great way for students to practice Alms giving by giving what they have to others.
Here is a link to an article about how CRS Rice Bowls affected a 3rd Grade Classroom:
Lesson in Faith

Another project we are working on is through www.freerice.com.  Students go onto this website - answer questions and then earn FREE RICE that the sponsoring companies send to hungry people around the world!  We are planning a FREE RICE day in technology in a few weeks but we want students to have the opportunity to get started on earning free rice for the hungry!  

How Do You Read with Young Children?
The National Education Association has some great tips!  Check out the fololowing link:  Reading to Young Children
Parking on Streets Around School
We have had numerous complaints from both fellow parents and the police about cars being parked illegally on the streets around the school.  Please note - the only legal parking around the school grounds in in the one lane in front of the school.  Leaving your car unattended on Jackson St. (the street between the school and the church) or double parking on Cascade St. is considered grounds for a ticket from the police.  They asked that we inform you that they are going to be watching our school and will be issuing tickets as needed.  Please use the church parking lot (behind the church) to park and come into the school. 

Diocesan School Calendar for 2014-2015 NOW Available
Can you believe we are in full swing in planning for the 2014-2015 school year?  Now available in the digital locker section of www.teacherease.com is our finalized diocesan school calendar for the 2014-2015 school year!  Please access this calendar for general full diocesan school dates and our own CCCS calendar on www.teacherease.com  for more articulated day-to-day events for Corpus Christi individually!  

HSA Board Members

It's that time of year again!  We are looking for some new additions to our Home and School Association Board! For the 2014-2015 school year, Mr. Ed Wilcox will be serving as our President/Treasurer as well as the HSA Representative on the School Advisory Council.  Mrs. Michelle Giancamilli and Mrs. Jackie Rodriguez will serve as our Vice Presidents! Mrs. Markita McKamey has served as our secretary but with Brianna graduating, we are looking for a new SECRETARY and a MEMBER AT LARGE!  Please access the HSA Application in the digital locker section of www.teacherease.com if you would like to serve in either of these rolls!  

GREAT Job by our St. Cecilia Choir! 

We are so proud of our St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum, our children's choral program here at Corpus for doing a FANTASTIC job using their gifts and talents to perform "The Rock Slinger and His Greatest Hit"!  A huge thanks to Mount St. Francis for hosting this GREAT event!  We are very proud of our students for doing so wonderful!  

A HUGE Thank You for Voting for CCCS for Best of the Springs

We are so excited!  We were notified that we have WON in one of the categories that we were nominated for!  Thank you for making this a repeat year of being a BEST OF THE SPRINGS! As soon as we know what category we won in - we will let you all know!  Thanks again for your support of CCCS!

ITBS Testing Complete!

ITBS is complete!  Thanks so  much for your support of your students!  We have completed most of the make-up testing sessions and we are mailing all of the testing materials to Riverside for processing.  Parents will receive your student reports with your student's final report card for the year!  Thank you again for your support!

Get TEXTS from CCCS! 

We are really excited to offer a new tool to our CCCS community!  We are inviting parents, students and staff to subscribe to a program called SchoolTextLine so we can share non-emergency announcements and reminders via text message! 

To subscribe, simply text: CCCS27 to: 96298 to start receiving text announcements and reminders from our school!  We currently have 30 individuals who have signed up!  Let's make this grow so it can be an effective communication tool! 

Get your Yearbook for 2013/2014

Check it out! On line ordering for the first ever, student-produced Corpus Christi Yearbook is now available. Please follow the  links below to order books, purchase an ad to promote your business or pay tribute to your child. You can also upload your favorite photos from school events for inclusion in the yearbook; action sports pictures are especially needed!

Secure on-line ordering via our publisher’s web site

• Cost is $25.00 per book
• Deadline for orders is March 31, 2014
• To buy a yearbook: https://yearbookforever.com Type in: Corpus Christi Catholic School or download an order form on www.teacherease.com in the digital locker section and send it to school with your payment.  

SCRIP Info!

As a reminder, in January 2013, we began a diocesan mandated requirement that each family participate in our school SCRIP program or pay a flat fee instead of participating.  As we put this incremental plan in place the first year requirement was that every family bring in a profit of $75 in SCRIP percentage credit or pay the $75.  

Here's How it Works:

As an example, we get an average of 5% back on SCRIP cards. This means that for every $100 purchased in SCRIP cards, the school receives $5.  By just purchasing $1500 over this last year in SCRIP that earns 5%, families have been able to meet the $75 requirement.  The balance will be due on or before completion of re-registration for 2014-2015.

As stated, this is a three year incremental implementation for our school with the final 2015 year profit expectation capping at $275.  In this final year of implementation, once this $275 has been met, all "extra" profit will come back to families in the form of TRIP (a Tuition Reimbursement Incentive Program) which will be credited to their tuition accounts. Many families in other schools use SCRIP to pay most of their tuition just by buying gift cards to make their regular family purchases!! 

Beginning this month through December, 2014, the expectation is that each family will purchase enough SCRIP to bring in a profit of $175. So using the 5% idea again, that would mean purchasing $3500 in 5% Scrip cards.  As always, if you do not wish to participate, a flat payment of the $175 (or $75 for this year) is always acceptable *.

* Scrip requirements for new families to our school are based on the number of months of attendance and they are not responsible for the total amounts. 

Safe 2 Tell 

Sometimes it is hard for students to report to teachers and parents when there is something going on in their lives that they know is not ok and they don't know what to do about-abuse, suicide, etc.  Corpus Christi Catholic School is now partnering with a wonderful organization formed here in Colorado Springs called Safe 2 Tell. Safe 2 Tell - http://safe2tell.org/ is an organization designed to allow youth to anonymously report events that they may not be willing or able to report to adults in their lives.  These reports are then sent to the school where we can contact local authorities or parents to get students the help they may need.  Please access the website above or call 877-542-7233 for more information.

Here's What Happening This Coming Week and the Next: 

Sunday, March 9- Corpus Christi Colors Sunday

Monday, March 10 - Regular Everyday Uniforms for PK-8

Tuesday, March 11- Everyday Uniforms for PK-5; PE Uniforms for 6-8

Wednesday, March 12 - Mass uniforms for PK-8; School Mass 1:45 PM; Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night (Garden of the Gods Location) - 4-8 PM

Thursday, March 13 - Notre Dame ACE Program Visit to CCCS; Regular EVERYDAY uniforms for PK-8

Friday, March 14 - SPIRIT DAY - students wear CCCS or "Holy Spirit" shirts with uniform bottoms for PK-8; End of 3rd Quarter; Pi Day at Middle School Lunch Time
Saturday, March 15 - CCCS in St. Patrick's Day Parade

Monday, March 17 - ADVANCED Review Team at CCCS;  Regular Everyday Uniforms for PK-8
Tuesday, March 18 - ADVANCED Review Team at CCCS; Please come to the gym at the end of school today to hear our final report from the AdvancEd Review Team!; Regular Everyday Uniforms for PK-5; PE Uniforms for 6-8

Wednesday, March 19 - St. Joseph's Donuts with Dad - in Cafeteria at 7 AM; Mass uniforms for PK-8; School Mass 1:45 PM
Thursday, March 20 - Regular EVERYDAY uniforms for PK-8

Friday, March 21 - Regular EVERYDAY uniforms for PK-8; 3rd Quarter Report Cards Go Home

Reminder of THINGS to DO:

• Check out your classroom teacher's blogs!  They are working hard to keep you in the loop of all that is going in in their classrooms!  This is a great way to be in the "know" of what your students are learning in class!  These can be accessed via our website or by following your teachers at the link they have shared.  
• Complete your re-registration paperwork and call Al Chromy with any questions!  

WHAT'S COMING SOON: 

Monday, March 24-Friday, March 28 - SPRING BREAK - NO School!

Wednesday, April 2 - Lenten School Confessions - 10 AM - No Mass

Thursday, April 3 - HSA Board Meeting - 7:30 AM
Friday, April 4 - First Friday Adoration - 11:15-11:45; NOON DISMISSAL; CCCS Staff Hosts Parish Soup Supper - please start planning now to attend!  
Wednesday, April 9 -7th graders to SMHS for Diocesan 7th Grade Visit Day- parents take to and pick up

from SMHS;  5, 6 and 8 Grade Awards Assembly (BEFORE MASS) - 1:15

Thursday, April 10 - 7th Grade to International Towne
Saturday, April 12 - American Heritage Girl FULL DAY event at CCCS- see digital locker for a sign up sheet
Sunday, April 13 - CCCS Colors Sunday
Monday, April 14 - HOLY WEEK Begins! No Homework or Extra Curricular Activities this week!
Wednesday, April 16 - SAC Board Meeting - 7:45 AM
Thursday, April 17 - Holy Thursday Celebration at School
Friday, April 18 - GOOD FRIDAY - No School 
Sunday, April 20- EASTER!!!  
Monday, April 21 - EASTER MONDAY - No School; 8th Graders Leave for 8th Grade Trip to Washington DC
Wednesday, April 30 - Corpus Christi Confirmation - 7 PM